Towel-rack.



H. A. AMMANNr TOWEL RACK.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10. 1915.

M%%@ QWL PatentedJDec. 4, 1917.

A201 Another object is Provide a means for N TE Il"IIi.l1\l'R'YA.All/IIVIANN, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR T0 DIAMOND INDIVIDUALTOWEL SYSTEM (30., OF SPOKANE, WASIHINGTOE, CORPORATION 015' WASHINGTON.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 4t, iait.

Application filed May 10, 1915. Serial No. 27,115.

Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have inventedcertain new and usefulv Improvements in Towel- Racks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in towel racks and cabinets anddispensing means, and has to do particularly with racks containing ashelf or case for clean towels and a receiving basket or container forsoiled towels.

One of the objects of the invention 1s to provide for so arranging cleantowels in bundles so that any desired quantity may be delivered to theconsumer, such quantity being-sufficient to supply a clean individualtowel foreac'n user.

stringing towels of such construction that noprohibitive expense isincurred, this result being. gained by using the device hereinaftershown, over and over again.

A still further object is to cut down the chancesof towelsbeing lost bytherenting company through petty thievery and providing a guiding meansto deliver the towels from a supporting shelf to a receiving basket,such means operating to present a clean fresh towel to the next user.

It is a still further object to provide individual linentowels whichwill supersede the more or less commonly used paper towels which arecomparatively expensive, as

once used they have to bethrown away. In-

dividual linen towels are much more satisfactory and-makes possible theuse of same in such a manner that an operating company may compete andkeep down the cost of handling and for that purpose this inventionhas'its prime object.

-' Other features and objects of the invention will be more fullydescribed in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be moreparticularly pointed out in and by the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 1s a perspective view of my 1mproved towel rackand attachment.

Fig. 2' is a view in front elevation of one of the membersof myinvention. Fig.3 is a view inside elevation of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of one of the bottom slat members of thereceiver, show- .Like characters of reference designate.

similar parts throughout the'different figures of the drawings. I

As illustrated lO designates a towel rack which is shown in the formofan upright standard supporting near its upper end a towel receivingcompartment 11 for fresh towels 12 and a compartment at the bottomthereof consisting of a receiver 13 for the used linen 14. i

Attached to thereceiving compartment 11 to the right of the centerthereof is a metal standard 15, being supported thereto on the shelfmember 16 by lugs 17 and 18 positioned above and below 16. The standard15 is secured to the shelf member 16 of the, receptacle 11 by such meansas screws 19. The upper end of the standard -l5supports a ring 20. thepurpose of which will be hereinafter fully described.

The towels 12 and let are threaded tor strung on a wire 21, the end 22of which is on the towel rack, across the under side of the shelf'to ahole through the member 18 of the upright standard 15, thence through asimilar hole providedin' 16, thencethrough the pack of towels 12, fromthe receiving member through the ring 20 and downwardly into thereceiving portionl3 of the rack. The ring 20 holds the wire in positionirrespective as to whether or not the wire happens to be too long, orlonger than the normal or required length, which sometimes might happenand furthermore, the wire is maintained with a predetermined amount ofslack and because of the fact that the wire cannot get away from thering, which lat ter forms a guide, the ring is more positive than thefork which is shown in my Patent No. 1,181,988, issued May 9, 1916.Furthermore the ri'n'gQO permits the user to insert his: handtherethrough to more readily grasp the uppermost towel and the ringprovides a larger opening through which the towel may be withdrawn thandoes the fork in my prior patent. @n the lower end of the wire removesame from the wire. The screw 25 will be operated by means of a keywrench (not :shown), which will be in possession of authoritativeparties only, thus it will be impossible to effect the remoual of towelsbetween the time they have left the laundry andtheir return.

I011 the lower end of .23 is an elongated o-pening26,:thelower end oflocking member 23 beingcomparatiyely thin, 26. will thus be ,in the formof an eyelet which maybe fastened to the bottom slats 27 of the receiverby the snap hook .28. The wire should have sufficient slack in it toenable the user to have. plenty of freedom in using the towel wvhile itstill remains attached to the wire. As difierent conditions of slacknessare necessary it is possible to have the wire 21 of .suflicient lengthso that the member 23 may be docked at any predetermined positionormaybe altered at will by :those having the key to the same, to give acomparatively close adjustment of the wire or a comparatively slackadjustment of same.

A-methodof supplying the rack-and using I thetowels is as followssuitable number snap hook located onthe under side of v.16. The towelsmay then beplaced upon the of cleantowels, usually-one or two hundred,will be threaded in any desired manne'r on the wirea21 and slid down thewire until the first :onestrikes the eye 27 which will act as a stop.The long length of .free

wireremaining will then be wrapped around the1 bundle of towels aidingtheir transporta- 50,-

tion to the consumers. When an empty rack .is to be supplied the wire isunwound from thepack of towels and the end 27 is thrust through the hole30 in the shelf 16 and through the hole 30 in the .lug member 18 of the.upright 15am the eye'engages with the receiver shelf 16,, the other endof the wire am through the member .20 and the eye end of lock ngmember:23 be'snapped to 28 which will hold it in substantial :and usableposinon until-removed. 23, having previously beenfattach'edtothenwirelwhen the bundle of towels were madeupwill now be adjust-- ed togive the desired tension "or 'slackness on the wire to provide a freeuse or restricted use of the towels as desired.

The towels are now ready to use and it a person desires to make use of atowel he must slip his hand through the center or ring '20, take a towelfrom the rack and draw it through the ring, use it, then drop it and letit slide into the receiver 13. This operation may be repeated until thetowels are all used.

It is my intention to have wires oi such quality that their use will beunlimited and that they will be interchangeable and usable on anysimilar rack and fixtures in service.

It is believed that the utility and the advantages of my invention willbe clearly understood from the foregoing description and while I haveherein shown and describid one specific form of my invention I do notwish to be limited thereto except for such limitations as the claims mayimport.

, I claim 1-- 1. In a means for supporting and dispensing towels, asupporting rack, a ring member extending at right angles andperpendicular thereto and attached to said supporting rack, a wirepassing through said ring, one end of said wire being sharpened andlocked in the lower receiving portion of the rack and one end of thewire being passed downwardly through the upper support and being snappedto the lower side thereof, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, a towel holding wire, a ringmember through which wire is trained, said ring member having lugsextending above and below said supporting rack, means for attaching saidring member to said rack, means for attaching said wire to the lowerside of the upper towel receiving'member, a locking member adjust-ablyengaging with the opposite end of the wire and a means for attachingsaid locking member to the bottom slats of the lower receptacle, saidlocking member being provided with a set screw to lockably engage withthe wire and constructed to receive a key wrench for operating it,substantially as described.

8. In a towel holder, upper .means forsupporting a. stack of cleantowels, a receiver below said means for the used towels, wire strungthrough the pack of towels, a'device for anchoring said wire on saidmeans, and a device for anchoring the remaining end of the wire intosaid receiver with suflicient slack oi the wire to render the sameflexible under use, said wire passing through a ring upright membersupported on the receiver, substantially as described.

4. In a towel holder, upper means for supporting a stack of cleantowels, a receiver below said means for used towels, an anchored wirestrung through the pack of towels, thence through the supporting shelf,a ring guard for the wire, the remaining end of the wire passing throughsaid ring, a locking device for anchoring the remaining end of the wirein said receiver, said look ing device provided to adjust the slack ofthe wire to render the same flexible under use, substantially asdescribed.

5. As a means of protecting individual towels in transit from thelaundry to the place of use and vice versa, a flexible stringer having asharpened end for insertion through a stack of initially imperforateclean towels at the laundry and provided on its remaining end with anenlargement to prevent the towels from being strung off from saidremaining end, and a locking enlargement for attachment to the sharpenedend of said stringer, whereby the towels are locked against removalendwise off from the stringer in transit to and from the place of useand at the place of use, said locking enlargement being removablewhereby clean towels may be strung onto said stringer and soiled towelsstrung off from said stringer, substantially as described.

6. In combination, a towel rack having anchoring elements, and aflexible stringer.

adapted to be strung through a stack of clean towels at the laundry,said stringer having devices for locking the towels against endwiseremoval of]? from the stringer in transit to and from the rack, and eachof said devices having means for attachment toone of said elements,whereby a stringer with. clean towels or a stringer with soiled towelsmay be attached to or detached from said rack, respectively, with theclean or soiled towels locked on the stringer, substantially asdescribed.

7. As an article of manufacture, of the class described, a lockingenlargement for attachment to a flexible individual towel stringercomprising a body having a wire receiving bore, a locking member havingthreaded engagement with said body for projection. into said bore, andsaid body having an eye, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature in presence oi? a witness.

HENRY A. AMMANN.

Witness EDNA BnoYLEs.

(Series of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

